Lauren proves she is a total warrior

Natalie Walker

A Preston woman took part in the one of the toughest challenges on the fund-raising calendar in honour of her beloved grandparent.

Lauren Hogg, of Fulwood, completed Total Warrior in Leeds, raising money for Heartbeat, which supported her grandpa Grant Williams.
Grant suffered a heart attack in May 1998 and several months later he underwent six heart bypasses.
After this, he went to Heartbeat for rehabilitation, to meet people who had gone through the same thing and eventually using the gym equipment to monitor his progress.
Lauren said: “I choose to raise money for Heartbeat after they supported my grandpa for 17 years.
“We sadly lost him last July, so as a thank you for all their help, I wanted to raise some money for Heartbeat so they can continue to help those in the future, as this charity is very close to our family’s heart.
“I am hoping to have a total of almost £500 by the end which is more than triple what I initially set out to achieve, so fingers crossed.”
The 24-year-old completed the course in two hours and 34 minutes and found it very tough.
She said: “The first obstacle was a 1km run, which you had to run to begin with. This was up and down a rather steep hill and took its toll on me. I honestly thought if this was the first obstacle it was only going to get worse. Which it did mud wise.
“To be thrown in at the deep end in thigh high thick mud was probably my worst nightmare. After this there was a lot of freezing water, more mud and challenging obstacles. I knew that I had to keep going though, not only to get back to the car but also to complete this challenge to show all the people who believed in me and supported me both mentally and physically, by donating to Heartbeat, that I could do this and would do this.”
To sponsor Lauren visit http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LAUREN-HOGG2.
Money collected from sponsored events will go towards the on-going work provided to people that require heart rehabilitation by providing an exercise-based Cardiac Rehabilitation programme, to those recovering from heart attack, surgery or stroke and supports those at risk of developing these conditions.
Heartbeat also provides testing and monitoring services such as 24 hour blood pressure and ECG reports.
Each week it supports more than 700 people at our sessions in Preston and surrounding areas, which currently costs more than £900,000 per year, all of which needs to come from voluntary donations.
If you are looking to take up a challenge in aid of your local heart charity contact Lisa or Mark in fundraising on 01772 717147 or email lisa.riding@heartbeat-nwcc.org.uk